Monday, October 29, 2012

Yes, it's true Orange-crowned Warbler may be present in New England this late.

Although most of the Canadian and Alaskan subspecies (Oreothlypis celata celata) found in the USA by this time are in the southern USA, a few brave ones persist now from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. Even fewer will remain by the time Christmas Bird Count results are tabulated, but it's not uncommon for some groups to see Orange-crowned into the new year and, during some non-breeding seasons, some will through the winter as far north as New England.

As for other wood-warbler species that are sometimes seen in northern latitudes (e.g., From Wisconsin east to New England) in late October, look for Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, and Yellow-breasted Chat as leading candidates. Evidently, Tennessee Warbler is also a member of the truant bunch this year, given the same Rhode Island posting, below.

*

* Rare Bird Alert
* Rhode Island
* Statewide
* October 28, 2012
* RIRI1210.28
- Birds mentioned
WOOD SANDPIPER
RUFF
DICKCISSEL
Snow Bunting
Ipswich Savannah Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Dunlin
VESPER SPARROW
Lapland Longspur
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
EVENING GROSBEAK
Pine Siskin
Tennessee Warbler
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
American Bittern
date: October 28, 2012
(401) 949-5454 or 245-7500 ext 3052
compiler: Janice St.Jean
transcriber: Janice St.Jean (_DLSaint@aol_ (mailto:DLSaint@aol) )
_www.asri.org_ (http://www.asri.org)
Welcome to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's bird alert for October
28th, 2012. This report covers the period from October 21st to October 27th,
and will be updated in about one week.
The WOOD SANDPIPER that was found at Marsh Meadows in Jamestown on the
13th, is still being seen every day. The bird frequents the Northeast and
Northwest corners of the marsh. Park at the water treatment plant on North
Road. To reach the NW corner of the marsh, take the public access path on the
left, or south, of the chain-link fence at the plant. After a short walk and
after a white pipe, take the much narrower path to the marsh on your left.
Once at the marsh, walk right along the marsh edge for about 50 yards. To
reach the the NE corner, take the marsh-edge trail on the East side of the
road, across the street from the treatment plant, and follow the well worn
path to the back pools where the bird feeds. Trails are getting worn and
muddy, boots are recommended. On the 22nd, a BALD EAGLE was spotted there.
A juvenile RUFF was found in Barrington on the 23rd, and has been observed
every day since then. It is in the marsh adjacent to Barrington Country
Club along Nyatt Road. Access can be gained from RISD's Tillinghast estate.
Park in the dirt lot and Walk down the trail through the mowed field to the
path that cuts through the marsh. A DICKCISSEL was seen here on the 24th,
AND 2 SNOW BUNTINGS were viewed on the 25th. Other sightings this past
week included: 1 Ipswich SAVANNAH SPARROW, 2 NELSON'S SPARROWS, 1 SEMIPALMATED
SANDPIPER, 2 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 1 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and 2 DUNLIN.
At Sunset Farm in Narraganset, 3 VESPER SPARROWS were seen on the 21st. A
single VESPER SPARROW was observed along a field edge in the Seapowet area
of Tiverton on the 22nd.
In Westerly, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR was on the lawn and in the parking lot at
the Watch Hill Lighthouse on the 27th. At Avondale Farm Preserve, 1
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen on the 23rd.
Sightings of EVENING GROSBEAK are being reported, with a flyover at the
Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Caratunk Refuge in Seekonk on the 25th, a
visit by 3 at a feeder in Middletown, and another 3 were sighted at a feeder
in Charlestown this week. In addition, PINE SISKINS continue to invade all
parts of the state.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER was studied in Little Compton, at the Goulart Community
Garden on the 26th.
On the 23rd, 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, 5 HERMIT THRUSHES and 2 BROWN
THRASHERS were found at Camp Cronin in Point Judith.
Finally, at Mud pond at the end of Moonstone Beach Road in South Kingstown,
1 AMERICAN BITTERN was seen. The water level at Mud and Card's Pond has
been lowered.
That's all for this week, thank you for calling and good birding!
- End transcript

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Another warbler photo quiz? Just pleasing the customers who asked for ANOTHER
photo quiz of warblers.

More specific, the following wood-warbler photo quiz has four easy
ones and the fifth is more often heard than seen (and, big hint: looks like a Worm-Eating Warbler, but is not this species....see below photos, all courtesy of Martin Meyers).

Good luck and I'll post the answers by around 11/1/12 in a new post. Please check back, if you wish....Warbler Guy (Daniel Edelstein, www.warblerwatch.com)

Which states hosts more nesting warbler species?

Search This Blog For Any Warbler Info Noted Here Since 2007

www.warblerwatch.com danieledelstein@att.net

Above, Biologist (M.S.) Daniel Edelstein riding an ATV while conducting raptor surveys at a proposed wind energy turbine site in the Wilson Range of Nevada.
Contact him at danieledelstein@att.net
Conducting field surveys since 1985 for common & special-status bird, mammal, amphibian, & reptile species (in addition to plant species), Daniel is a freelance Certified Wildlife Biologist Associate (warblerwatch.com) He possesses a M.S. in Natural Resources.
His permits:
USFWS Endangered Species Recovery Permit for Ridgeway's Rail, California Red-legged Frog, and California Tiger Salamander (TE101743-0), as well as Memorandum of Understanding to conduct Ridgway's Rail and CA Black Rail surveys.
His resume is present at
https://warblerwatch.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/edelstein-certified-wildlife-biologist-resume-2015.pdf

By the first week of March, which returning wood-warbler is the second or third most abundant wood-warbler species in the USA?

Can you identify the correct order (top to bottom) of wood-warblers in the five photos on the left from the 11/10/10 posting?

In how many states does Kirtland's Warbler regularly nest?

With a clutch of six or seven eggs, this wood-warbler lays the largest clutch:

Which are three of the earliest dispersing/migrating wood-warblers?

How many New World wood-warbler species exist?

Can you identify the correct order (top to bottom) of wood-warblers in the five photos on the left from the 3/2/10 posting?

Which wood-warbler is typically the earliest long-traveling migrant back on the East Coast? West Coast?

Which wood-warbler species has gained the most population by percentage in the last 20 years?

FAB FIVE QUIZ: From top to bottom, can you correctly ID the species in order from the following choices?

Approximately how many miles are trans-oceanic migrating Blackpoll (Warbler) traveling if they begin in New England and arrive in northern S. America (For help, see the 9/29/09 article)?

Pretend you're attending an upcoming Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in any of the lower 48 states. Which two wood-warbler species are the most likely ones MOST people would see?

Can you name two wood-warbler species that are breeding endemics to one USA state?

Beyond it now being the most likely viewed wood-warbler from the Upper Midwest to the upper Eastern Seaboard/upper New England area, the Yellow-Rumped Warbler holds the following distinction from most other USA wood-warblers (& other songbirds):

In terms of sheer numbers, which wood-warbler is the most common on our beautiful, amazing, avian-filled planet?

How many wood-warblers in North America look similar year-round because they don’t undergo a prealternate molt?

Given the "Dendroica" genus hosts the greatest number of North American wood-warbler species, which member of this genus is the largest in the continental USA?

Can you name the two hybrid forms that sometimes result when Golden-Winged and Blue-Winged Warbler mate?

On the West Coast, which wood-warbler is one of the earliest dispersing species after nesting?

Among the species listed in the 5/29/09 article (on the left), which one is considered extinct?

Common Yellowthroat was often previously named differently in many field guides as XXXXXX Yellowthroat?

Which common wood-warbler's breeding range is split into an eastern and western subspecies breeding population?

Which sequence of weather conditions typically result in a "fallout" of wood-warblers during the spring on the Gulf Coast?

Yellow-Breasted Chat

If it's not a wood-warbler, then into which taxonomic placement has Yellow-breasted Chat previously been proposed?

Which "New World" wood-warbler species has the most extensive breeding area?

Unlike Blackpoll that undertake a long migration (see 1/8/09 article), which wood-warbler has populations that do NOT migrate?

What behavior displayed by American Redstart is different than most other songbird order members?

Which wood-warbler species spends the winter in large numbers in higher latitudes than any other wood-warbler?

(Audubon's) Yellow-Rumped Warbler

. . . is one of the four subspecies of Audubon's Yellow-Rumped Warbler, while another two are considered "Myrtle's" Yellow-Rumped Warbler. According to Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett's "Warbler" field guide, subtle variations in the pitch (frequency level) of the call notes help distinguish an Audubon's vs. a Myrtle's subspecies (in addition, of course, to assessing their different field marks).

Is the song or call of the Yellow-Rumped Warbler subspecies (Myrtle and Audubon's) the best way to tell them apart?

Warbler Guy, do you provide us the answers to your quizzes (scroll down the page to see each new one)?

Given most songbirds hop on the ground, how many wood-warblers possess as an important field behavior the ability to walk?

Which wood-warbler species are some the most improbable and/or rare to see on the West Coast? (Answer at end of related article on left.)

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

Next to the Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat is the next most likely non-breeding season wood-warbler to overwinter in extreme, northern latitude states, especially if a micro-habitat or mild winter exists.

True or False: More wood-warbler (Parulidae family) species nest in the USA & Canada than in the tropics?

Hermit Warbler (Dendroica occidentalis)

Like many resident tropical wood-warbler family members, the Hermit Warbler displays little seasonal change in plumage. Interestingly, young and adult birds in low elevation sites leave breeding territories before the start of prebasic molt (after the breeding season) and presumably move to higher elevations to molt.

Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii)

Like all Dendroica genus members, the Kirtland's Warbler displays a characteristic feeding behavior that is termed "hover and glean" as it searches for insects during the breeding season.

In my opinion, the most challenging autumn/basic plumage wood-warbler to ID is:

Which is the single wood-warbler species that nests in the USA, but is not in the Parulidae family like all the other 51 other regularly-occurring wood-warbler species existing north of Mexico in North America?